Those that do meal planning versus tracking calories

robbackatya
robbackatya Posts: 123 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
To ask a question that came off another thread I was looking at.
For those that do meal planning versus tracking every calorie(single foods), do you still log and track your meals and exercise?

Replies

  • skinnyD2308
    skinnyD2308 Posts: 92 Member
    Yes, I typically plan my meals/snacks with calories and protein grams in mind and put them in my tracker the day before, but then throughout the day I'm actually eating my plan, I adust the calories for the protions I eat (I weigh about 85-95% of what I eat) and add anything that wasn't in the original plan, or sometimes I swap some of my stuff, so my log ends of being a record of what I actually eat, instead of just what I planned on eating. Hope that makes sense.

    Ultimately, I was my food diary to be as accurate as possible so I can start pinpointing areas for improvement for future success.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Absolutely!

    I plan ahead for a week at a time to ensure I meet my macro/micros and track all liquids and exercise.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    To ask a question that came off another thread I was looking at.
    For those that do meal planning versus tracking every calorie(single foods), do you still log and track your meals and exercise?
    Why wouldn't you? Just because you plan your meals doesn't mean you don't need to track the calories.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Believe it or not, you can actually do both. And they go well together when you prelog your meals and adjust as needed.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    These aren't mutually exclusive...

    I plug into my food diary what I think I'm going to definitely want for the day, and then I squeeze in peanut butter when I can.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    The blue ardvark jumped over the green moon.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
    I do both. I prelog everything, round up for fruits and veggies, and all "hidden treasure" calories go to dinner and late night snack upgrades. :smile:
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    I meal prep for the week, and I track everything. Yes, I know how many calories my breakfast, snack, and lunch are, but I still track to see where I end up at the end of the day. My dinner varies, and I don't always know ahead of time what I'm having.
  • FitMama2013
    FitMama2013 Posts: 913 Member
    If you are refering to meal planning using exchanges, then yes, I do that. I started about 10 days ago (seeing a dietician) and planning meals based on exchanges is really helpful. For now, I'm counting calories since it's a big change, but I hope to stop doing that in the next few month and just look at exchange numbers (i.e. X number of grains, X number of dairy, X protein, etc)
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    The blue ardvark jumped over the green moon.

    Two a's in aardvark, Goose.
  • tennisgirl444
    tennisgirl444 Posts: 57 Member
    I do both- I watch how my macros/nutrients turn out over the day. Depending what I decide (or plan to eat) for breakfast, I look at what I'm missing. Sometimes I go, oh i'm low on protein, I should eat xyz. Oh, I'm high on salt, I should eat xyz instead of abc.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    The blue ardvark jumped over the green moon.

    Two a's in aardvark, Goose.

    It's irrelevant. Much like the post.

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